Engineers working on the locomotive hope it will be ready for action on modern British train tracks in summer 2015.

Paul Kirkman, Director of the National Railway Museum, said: "We are now progressing full steam ahead towards completing the restoration.

"We are showcasing British engineering genius, with our Mallard 75 Great Goodbye celebration at Locomotion; the National Railway Museum at Shildon next month so it's great that we can announce good news regarding another Gresley-designed icon."